Die Kunsvereniging van Pretoria bied ’n uitstalling aan om Wêreld-Kunsdag te vier. Die Pretoriase kunstenaars, Dylan T. Graham en Riaan Diederichs besig om sy en Cobus Haupt kunswerke te hang wat tydens die Engage-uitstalling, wat op 15 April by die Mackiestraat-galery open, gesien kan word. Foto: Lisa HnatowiczSien meer fotos in Tshwane Beeld.
An exhibition to hail the 2012 World Art Day
The world, for the first time this year, will celebrate a World Art Day on 15 April, an initiative of the International Association of Art (IAA), a non-governmental organization associated with UNESCO. In April 2011, at the 17th World General Assembly of the Association held in Guadalajara, Mexico, a proposal was unanimously accepted that a ‘World Art Day’ be declared on 15 April each year to celebrate and promote the role which the visual arts play in die global community. The reason for deciding on 15 April was highly evident. That day marks the birthday of Leonardo da Vinci. Leonardo’s stature as a painter, sculptor, writer, engineer, innovator, mathematician and philosopher still remains a guiding light in our contemporary world.
The international President of the IAA, Mrs Rosa Maria Velasco (Mexico), expressed the desire that the World Art Day be celebrated every year, and said: “Art is the most genuine expression of the human soul, shaped in images, words, sounds and movements, reflecting the story of the human race. World Art Day will allow artists and art lovers of the world to feel the power and preciousness of art simultaneously. May all nations of the world breathe its importance.”
The South African National Association for the Visual Arts (SANAVA) the umbrella body of 28 visual arts associations and an equal number of affiliates, is a member of the IAA. SANAVA, in collaboration with the national committees of the IAA world-wide and their visual arts associations, wishes to encourage and call on all South Africans to contribute to World Art Day with art festivities, exhibitions, panel discussions and other promotional events. From Latin America and the Caribbean to North America, Europe, Israel and the Arab States, from Asia and the Pacific countries to Africa, visual artists will rally to celebrate the IAA World Art Day and thus emphasize the role of the visual arts in promoting peace and global good-will.
To join in these world-wide celebrations, the Association of Arts Pretoria is hosting an exceptional exhibition entitled ENGAGE. The central theme of this exhibition is the informal collaboration between invited artists who either work in 2D or 3D. Each artist is assigned to another artist and asked to work in collaboration with his or her partner. By engaging each individual artist with another artist, it is to be seen whether a visual and intellectual synergy is established. This fascinating experiment could create a marriage of either convenience or inconvenience. Who knows?
The exhibition will be opened by Professor Stephen Finn on Sunday 15 April 2012 at 18:30 for 19:00 in the Mackie Street gallery of the Association of Arts Pretoria and runs until Wednesday 2 May 2012.
A walkabout of the exhibition is conducted by artist Andre Naudé on Saturday, 21 April 2012 at 11:00.
Association of Arts Pretoria
